Seals of power
by KazeRogue
Summary: When a thief kills a noblewoman's father, she vows deadly revenge. But darker forces meddle in her plans... (co-written with Michi-chan)
1. seals of power part 1

Seals of power  
  
by Michi-chan and KazeRogue  
  
  
Disclaimer: Characters: Marvel's Story: ours  
  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
  
The carriage rumbled through the forest, shaking it's passangers. Comte de Montmiraille à Sartpassant sighed and leaned back in his seat. His daughter, Jacqueline Henriette watched him with concern. He'd came all the way from Montmiraille to the little convent school where she'd been educated for the past couple of years to take her home. But he was an old man and the long strenous journey was exhausting him. But soon they would arrive at home.   
  
She couldn't wait to see Irene Corbeau, the woman who had been like a mother to her after her real mother had died. The woman who had taught her to survive, who had made her strong. Her father had always had a soft spot for her, granting her every liberty she demanded. Mme Corbeau had directed her wildness into the right way, giving her a strong will, but also wisdom. But then, her aunt had persuaded her father that her formation would be better finished in a convent, to prevent Jacqueline from having a free will - God forbid! - and - most important - become a good wife for one of the nobles who wanted to link with her family. She was now in the age of marriage, but she despised the idea. She had other plans than spending the rest of her life in this golden cage. Luckily her father had promised her that she could choose her husband-to-be herself. Well, that choice could wait a while.  
  
Jacqueline grinned to herself. She was certainly looking forward to see Irene again and discuss this certain matter with her. She would be delighted to think of a strategy to hold off the unwanted suitors. Planning and scheming were her favorite pasttimes.   
  
Suddenly she heard a noise and the carriage came to an abrupt halt. She fell forward and had to cling to her father to not hit the floor. Angrily, her father opened the door to see what was going on outside, but he saw just long legs dangling from the top of the carriage. The young comtess was surprised, she hadn't even heard someone jumping on it's top, the owner of these legs had to be light-footed like a cat. She became evidence of that as the man let himself drop to the floor elegantly to face her father. And he was good looking, too. Young and handsome, strong in both body and will, as one could easily see. And raiding them. Men, similary dressed as their leader - Jacqueline had no doubt that the one in front of her held that position - , covered the Comte's men, swords in their hands. A young girl with short red hair ran around between them, taking their valuables.   
  
"What do you want?" Her father asked with a strong voice, the strains of the voyage forgotten.  
  
"We're jus' some hungry wanderers, asking kindly for a donation."  
  
His men roared with laughter at their leader's joke. So he was a thief AND he was making fun of her father. That got him some minus points at Jacqueline's scale.  
  
"Monsieur, just give us what we want, you don't look as if you would miss it, and we'll leave you and your little sweetheart here alone. What do you think?"  
  
"How dare you! This is my daughter!"  
  
Jacqueline could barely hold back. Anger was boiling in her and blurred her vision. Just the presence of her father kept her from leaping at that guy and scratching his eyes out. So he was impertinent, too. Jacqueline didn't like him. Big time.  
  
"Is that so? Well, your 'daughter' is quite pretty, we might as well take her instead of your jewels."  
  
Again, roaring laughter from his men was the response. The Comte was so shocked he nearly forgot to breathe. His face was turning red, but before his anger could erupt, his daughter exploded. She tried to get past him, a dangerous look on her face. He could barely hold her back by her upper arm while she was already insulting the thief with swearwords he had never imagined a lady to KNOW. And his little daughter was just USING them!  
The thief seemed equally surprised at her sudden outburst, but then laughed out loud.  
  
"Wild thing you got yourself there, Comte." He said while ripping off the necklace the young woman was wearing.  
  
He looked at it closely, seizing it, then tossed it to the young redhead who catched it with the blade of her knife. The thief returned his attention to the scowling comte and his furious daughter. A huge grin spread over his face that Jacqueline, under different circumstances would have called impishly cute, but now it digusted her.   
  
"Ah, don't take it seriously, ma chère, jus' kidding."  
  
"Isn't it enough that you're raiding us? Do you have to make fun of us, too?" Jacqueline asked, slightly embarassed by his familiar address.  
  
The thief seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.   
  
"Yes, I think I have to, that's the funny part of my hard work."  
  
Again his men met this comment with laughter. The comte had enough of this scenario. He pulled his daughter back in the carriage and left it in the same movement. Though he was a tall man, the young thief was even a few inches taller Jacqueline noticed.  
  
"That's enough! I didn't expect a thief to have manners, but you're exceeding the limit! I won't let my family be insulted by a lousy street rat, no matter how many men you have there backing you up. You will excuse for these insults immediately!" The comte said, his eyes firmly locked with the thief's, who seemed to have lost his humour. He sensed that this conversation was turning serious, and the comte calling him 'street rat', a title he had heard too many times and still despised it like nothing else, didn't help. His jaw set angrily, he closed the distance to the elder man.  
  
"What about you take your little daughter and leave before something happens that we both would like to avoid. I have what I came for and you can survive for all I care. But don't ever cross me!" He told him, an equal pride shining in his eyes as in the comte's.  
  
"So there's just one way. I have to reestablish my honor." The comte draw his sword and lifted it to his face in a gesture of greet to his opponent. The thief took a step back to have space to draw his own weapon, but that wasn't neccassary anymore. An arrow trembled in the old man's chest and he broke down soundlessly. Not as soundlessly was the scream that escaped his daughter's lips. Jacqueline shoved out of the carriage and kneeled next to her father's body in an instant.  
  
The young thief turned around angrily to find the assailant. He immediately saw the content face of one of his men, wearing a cruel smile and still holding the bow. He snorted disgusted. Sure, who else?  
  
"Chatton, what do you think ya're doin' there?" He yelled at him.  
  
"Savin' yer hide?" The one called Chatton yelled back, still smiling, confidently. His leader believed him no second. Chatton and he didn't get along that well, the elder one would stab him in the back anytime. He had killed the man out of fun nothing else.   
  
"I was absolutely balanced, no need to kill a man of honor like a coward. Don't ever dare to do something like that without my strict order again, do you hear me?"  
  
Chatton snorted. He didn't seem to hold his leader's principles too high. But the thief had already turned his attention back to the dead comte and his sobbing daughter who clenched to the corpse desperately. He touched her shoulder, but she slapped his hand away. Jacqueline turned to look at him, a cold fire burning in her soul.   
  
"You!! You killed him! You killed my father. He was an old man and YOU LET YOUR MAN KILL HIM FROM BEHIND BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO COWARDLY TO FIGHT HIM LIKE A MAN OF HONOR!!!!!!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Jacqueline attacked him with an unarticulated scream. The thief held her off by her wrists, trying to calm her down.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened here, wasn't supposed to. But you should really go now before the situation escalates." He motioned for one of the comte's servants to take care of the comtess, then let go of her. She slowly regained her composure. She looked at him with more dignity and cold hatred than he had ever seen on a person.  
  
"One day, thief, no matter where you will try to hide, you'll wake up with a knife at your throat. And I will be there. And I will laugh. Never forget this. You will die!"  
  
With these words, she entered the carriage, took her fathers body in her lap, and let the carriage drive her home. The thief looked after her and suddenly felt colder than anytime before in his young life.  
  
  
End chapter one  
  
  



	2. seals of power part 2

Disclaimer: The character's respective counterparts in the general X-reality are owned by Marvel  
  
Note: This story takes place in a francophone area, so many expressions are French. We don't write the dialogue's in French because 1) we don't think you would like - especially the ones who don't speak French 2) we already have to struggle with one foreign language (and we ARE strugglin'!) a second one would be too much. And our French is even worse than our English, so you can imagine what would come out ;) But prepare! One day we'll write a story about someone German and there, the dialogue's will be authentic *evil grin*  
  
Enjoy,  
KazeRogue (KazeRogue@hotmail.com)  
& Michi-chan  
  
Seals of power  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Jacqueline opened the door of the carriage with numb fingers, but not as numb as she felt inside. Though the corpse of her father laid next to her, she couldn't yet believe that he was gone forever. She left the carriage and looked at her birthplace with tired eyes, the mansion had never seemed so empty before. Jacqueline saw Mme Corbeau standing at the front door and froze. She saw compassion in the elder woman's eyes, compassion and love. Tears welled up in her eyes and she threw herself in Irene's arms.   
  
"He's dead Irene!" Jacqueline sobbed. "My father is dead. Dead! And it's all my fault!"   
  
Irene stroked her hair soothingly.   
  
"No, dear, it's not your fault. Don't you ever think that what happened is your fault. It's this damned thief's fault. And he will pay for it!"  
These last words she spoke with narrowed eyes and a coldness in her voice that mirrored Jacqueline's soul.  
  
****************************  
  
Remy LeBeau stomped angrily through the thieves' hideout, a little hut in the forest in which he and his followers had waylaid rich travelers recently. The redheaded girl, that slouched in a chair next to him, looked up grinning.  
  
"Do you want me to show him who's in command here?" She said while stroking over the blade of her knife.  
  
The leader of the thieves seized her. She was loyal, ready to kill or die for him in an instant. And barely 15 years old. He smiled sadly.  
  
"Don't cross him, do ya hear me? Chatton is out of your league, don't get yourself killed. I can deal with him myself."   
  
The young criminal left the hut, jaw firmly set, to let actions follow his words. The giant thief he was searching sat on a treestump, grinding his saber. He looked up, a vicious glow in his narrow eyes, when he heard the other one approaching.  
  
"Now, now, look who's there! Came to punish me fer savin' yer hide, LeBeau?"  
  
"Non, to punish ya for not following m'orders. I said 'no dead', 'member?" LeBeau glared at the elder man.  
  
"What shall I say, he freaked out." Chatton didn't even try to hide his contended smile.  
  
"I could 'ave easily dealt wit' 'im m'self. I don' need anybody ta babysit me, compris?"  
  
"'kay, I'm sorry. Won't happen again." Chatton held out his hand and after a moment of hesitation, the young thief took it. He was going to play nice. Fer now.  
  
*************************  
  
The rain splatted in her face but she couldn't care less. The other attendants of the Comte's funeral might think that it was a mixture of the rain and her own tears that wetted her face, but it wasn't. Jacqueline hadn't cried since her conversation with Irene. A cold determination had overcome her and she would cry only after she had revenged her father. And then, she would cry of joy. Her grip tightened around the long curved dagger, that has been in her family for decades. With this dagger, she would rip the thief's worthless heart out. Literally.  
  
She felt Irene's hand on her shoulder and looked up. The elder woman smiled reassuringly. She knew what the young woman was thinking of and couldn't approve more. She had looked after her since she had been a little girl, had taught her to have her own will and, if necessary, fight for it.   
  
The priest, père Wagner, had finished his sermon. Jacqueline, though having learnt Latin despite her being a woman, had no clue what it has been about. The empty phrases about a soul returning to the Lord could offer no solace to her tortured heart. They were spoken at every funeral, nobody would see that her father had been someone special. And now his memory was sullied by a cowardly murder. But she would wash it clean. With blood.  
  
With dignity, she strode to her fathers tomb to lay down the bouquet she was holding. With cold eyes she looked at the words inscribed on the marble stone: Requiescat in pace. Her lips trembled in determination. There was still something left to do before they both would be able to find peace.  
  
Jacqueline had been raised as a noblewoman, to keep perfect manners in every situation - though she'd never been good in that department -, and she knew she should accept the attendants' condolences, but she couldn't. They imagined to see a young mourning girl and wouldn't expect her to tear their cold, hypocritical eyes out of their sockets. They weren't here to pay their last respects to the Comte. Most of them were certainly wondering how to appropriate the dead man's land even now, while the ceremony. Jacqueline would surely receive a few 'interesting' proposals of young men soon. She knew that she would never be allowed to keep the country on her own. But for the time being, her uncle would conduct her possessions as her guardian, until she found a worthy husband. First, she could thus attend to the task at hand, anything that happened later didn't matter to her at all. She lived for the revenge.  
  
The servant that held her umbrella sneezed and Jacqueline pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned around to find herself alone aside from the servant. She hadn't noticed anyone else leaving, her uncle and Irene had been so courteous as to take care of the guests and not let them disturb her. With a sigh Jacqueline turned around to leave the cemetery and drive home. In her carriage, her uncle waited for her.  
  
"Gavroche, I'm glad you're coming. I was afraid you would freeze to death. How do you feel?" Her uncle smiled at her warmly despite the sadness in his normally twinkling eyes. He had used his old nickname for her, gavroche - little girl, brat - a piece of normality in the insanity her life had become. Jaqueline managed to smile back and sat down opposite to him.   
  
"I feel good, oncle. Under the circumstances." Henry looked at her sympathetically.  
  
"I know, it's hard for me, too. But we will pull through. I'll do my best to help you, but you know you can't live on your own."  
  
Her smile became sardonic.  
  
"Yes, I know, oncle. But I think I can survive being no man's puppet for a little while longer."  
  
Henry was surprised to see his niece so angry. He hadn't meant to offend her in any way. He surely was sorry for her losing the only parent she had ever known, but he was responsible for her future. And he wouldn't decide behind her back.  
  
Do you want to return to the convent?" He asked instead.  
  
Jacqueline seemed to ponder over that for a few seconds. Then, she shook her head.  
  
"Non. It's time I take my life in my own hands and not hide anymore..." her gaze got lost in the distance and Henry decided to leave her to her thoughts.  
  
  
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Irene Corbeau carefully went upstairs trying not to let hot wax from the candle she carried spill over her hands. She headed towards her protegee's room, being worried about the young girl. Since the girl's mother had died at her birth, she had taken over that role, coming to love Jacqueline like her own child. And she wanted her to find happiness in a world that wasn't too nice to young women. So she had taught her to be free. And now she had to watch her heart's only joy risking her young life in order to find her freedom again. Her freedom from the bounds of honor that made her thrive for revenge. But her heart sang when she thought about the girls willpower to get through with this task. She had taught her well.  
  
The elder woman opened the door of her foster-daughter's room and was surprised to see her not only awake but fully dressed in tight deerskin trousers, a white blouse and a leather waistcoat. She was putting on knee-high riding boots when she noticed Irene's presence.  
  
"René", the young girl started, using her old nickname for Mme Corbeau, but the elder woman cut her off.  
  
"Where to?" she simply asked.  
  
Jacqueline's expression turned deadly serious.  
  
"The woods." She put on the other boot.  
  
"They will kill you."  
  
"Not before I got my revenge."  
  
"I understand you, but don't throw your life away like this. Please, I thought I had taught you to prepare your actions. Without a plan you will get yourself killed."  
  
"I don't care." Jacqueline stared at her boots, not able to meet Irene's shocked eyes. Suddenly she felt firm hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at the woman that has been a mother to her.   
  
"Are you stupid? Do you think your father would want that? You want revenge? Fine, you have my support, absolutely. But I won't watch you die. You are too young and have your whole life ahead of you to throw it away just to take some dirty thief's life. Understood?"  
  
"Yes..." the young girls voice was barely audible.  
  
Mme Corbeau sighed and let go of her. She regained her composure and straightened her skirts. She stroked over her protegee's hair kissed her forehead.  
  
"Good night, Jacqueline."  
  
"Good night, René."  
  
When Irene had left the room, Jacqueline looked at the dagger on her table. She took it in her hand, tracing it's curves with her index finger. Suddenly she clenched her fist around the blade and watched the dark blood run from her palm.  
  
"Sorry, René." She whispered as she climbed out of her bedroom window.  
  
  
~ending chapter 2~  
  
  
Note: I'm sorry that this is so short, but I wanted to get it out asap and I won't have much time to write anytime soon. And my dear co-author hasn't done much for this (*hint, hint*, Michi, c'mon, wake up!) 


	3. seals of power part 3

Disclaimer: characters are Marvels'. Feel free to archive but please send us a notice first to one of the addresses below. 

Seals of Power 

by KazeRogue (KazeRogue@hotmail.com)   
and Michi-chan (FieryCat36@hotmail.com) 

Feedback is highly appreciated ^____^ 

Chapter 3 

Remy was alone in the small hut which served the thieves as their hideout. One of the few privileges of being the thieves' leader was the possibility to order them to leave him alone whenever he needed some privacy. And right now he was in desperate need. There were so many things going on in his head. His gaze was focused on the object he was holding in his hands. It was the picture of a young woman, about his age, with flaming red hair, which surrounded her delicate features. She was smiling. Remy smiled back, but unlike hers, his was a sad smile. His fingers clenched around the simple wooden frame and for a moment he feared it would break. 

"LeBeau!" The door was flung open forcefully, causing Remy to wince and drop the picture. It made a clattering sound as it hit the floor and rolled a few feet until it came to a halt at the foot of the small table. Remy looked up to see who had dared to ignore his order. He felt his anger burn as he caught sight of Chatton standing in the door frame. He had never liked this man, but since the incident with the old noble man his antipathy had turned into loathing. 

"My order goes for you as well, Chatton" he said, his voice threateningly calm. The look Remy shot him would've caused every other men to back up, but on Chatton it didn't seem to work. 

"We have to talk." 

"I'm sorry Remy. I told him you didn't want to be disturbed but he wouldn't listen to me." said a voice from behind Chatton. Sarah slipped past the big man but remained at the entrance unsure what to do. 

"Don't worry Sarah, it isn't your fault." Remy reassured her. No, it certainly wasn't. If Chatton wanted to talk to him, there wasn't much little Sarah could do to stop him. Nonetheless Remy admired her courage. It took a lot of bravery to stand up to someone like Chatton. Remy turned to Chatton again. 

"So, what do ya want to talk about?" Chatton finally left his spot at the door and walked towards Remy. 

"No, LeBeau I want to talk to ya alone, without yer pet hanging around." he gestured towards Sarah. The young girl tensed at his nickname for her. Remy's pet. How she hated to be called this - how she hated Chatton. He had been against her inclusion into the thieves band, had plead that she was too young, that she'd just be a millstone around their necks. Still Remy had given her a chance and she had proven herself a valuable member of their group. She had earned the respect and acceptance of the others. Well, except Chatton. From her look, Remy could tell that Sarah was really mad and being short tempered as she was, he feared she'd try and attack Chatton. Suddenly the memory of another redhead with an equally hot temper came up in his mind. No, that one wasn't red, it was more like auburn... He pushed the thought away. There were more important matters to attend to right now. 

"Leave us alone, Sarah." he told the girl before she could do anything they'd both regret afterwards. 

"But-" 

"NOW!" he cut her off, before she could say anything more. There was a second of hesitating, but then Sarah turned around and left the hut, closing the door behind her. When she was gone, Remy folded his arms in front of his chest. He looked at Chatton with narrowed eyes, waiting for the other man to speak. Chatton was about to say something, when he spotted a small object on the floor. Remy's eyes followed Chatton's and he noticed the picture still lying under the table. Without a word he went over to the table to pick it up, but Chatton was faster. He gave a quiet whistle as he saw the potrait of the beautiful woman. 

"Hey, who is this little honey, LeBeau? Yer mistress?" he asked leering. 

"Dat's none of your goddamn business!" Remy hissed through clenched teeth as he snatched the picture from Chatton. He put it away quickly then returned his attention to Chatton who seemed to be amused by his reaction. 

"My my, so irritable today?" Remy wasn't in the mood for Chatton's games. All he wanted was to get this 'talk' over with and then get rid of Chattons company. At least for the rest of the day. 

"Say what you want to tell me or leave!" 

  


Jacqueline slowly let herself glide out of the saddle. She buried her head in the horse's mane and closed her eyes, trying to clear her head. 'This is crazy' a voice in the back of her head screamed. She'd left her home, her uncle, Irene, everyone who had ever cared for her, just to hunt down some thief who could be anywhere by now. For a moment she played with the thought of going back, taking Irene's advice and come up with some kind of plan first. But then she saw her father, remembered how he used to throw her up in the air when she'd been a little girl, his face full of love when he called her 'his little wild princess'. 

These happy memories were quickly replaced by the one of his body, limp and lifeless in her arms and her hate flared up again. She pushed all thoughts about going back away. No, she did the right thing. She had to do this and - as much as René may wanted to help her - she had to do it on her own. 'It's just the strain I've been under the last couple of hours' she thought. Jacqueline had been on horseback since she'd left her home about five hours ago. And now she was exhausted, hungry and most of all terribly tired. She let out a low moan, as she stretched and felt her muscles protesting at the movement. What she'd give for a warm meal and a bed right now... 

'You're just not used to this' she told herself angrily 'but you have to keep moving, if you ever want to find that damned thief!'. She had tried to find the place again where the thieves had gotten hold of her father's carriage, because she was sure, that their 'headquarters' or whatever it was called in 'thief-language' would not be far away. Thieves bands always had hideouts in the woods, and they never went away too far from it for their attacks. That way they had to carry the loot only a short distance. At least that was what she had heard and what she hoped was true. Unfortunately lessons in tracing somebody's trail weren't given in the convent and her sense of orientation wasn't what she now wished it would be. Or in other words: she had no clue as to where she was and if she was even near the place she was searching. 

She remebered passing a group of trees which had been different from the others that grew in this wood, shortly before they were attacked. But how was she supposed to find them? It had been day then and now in the darkness of the night, all trees looked alike to her. Knowing that she wouldn't find the thieves in the dark, she decided to rest for awhile. She took her bags off the horse and put them down under a tree. Then she gathered a few small branches and tried to make a fire that would warm her and keep wild animals away. She wasn't sure if there were any dangerous animals in the forest at all, but better safe than sorry. 

Fortunately it hadn't been raining for a week and the wood was dry and caught fire easily. As the flames slowly licked upwards, Jacqueline silently thanked Irene for teaching her how to light a fire. Leaning back against a tree she grabbed for her bag and pulled it onto her lap. She considered eating a bit of her provisions but decided against it. Who knew how long they would have to do for her. Getting the picture of her parents - the only memory of her family she had taken with her - out of the bag, Jacqueline looked at it for a moment, then kissed her father and the mother she had never known. Pressing it to her chest, she drifted off to sleep.   


  


"We have to move. This place is no longer safe." Chatton said without further ado. 

"So? And who says dat?" 

"Me. Listen, LeBeau, we've been here for how long now, three weeks? And we've robbed dozens of rich bastards. What if they told the gendarms? Maybe this whole forest is already full of soldiers, searching for us. I have no intention of ending on the gallow." 

"So, do you? Den maybe you got yourself de wrong job, mon ami?" Remy said mockingly. Still, and has much as Remy hated to admit it, Chatton was right. It was really time for them to move on. They had already spent to much time in one and the same place, and as well hidden as this place may be, it wasn't untraceable. The risk was just too big. Unconsciously glancing at the frame he still held in his clenched hands, he nodded. 

"D'accord. Tell de ot'ers to pack up. We're moving tomorrow at dawn..." 

When Chatton left the young leader's hut, he heard him whisper something like 'maybe we will find what we're searching elsewhere...' but neither was he sure to have heard correctly, nor did he care enough to ask what he meant with this statement. Grinning inwardly he yelled orders at the other thieves to prepare everything for their leave. He had it his way and that was all that counted.   


  


Sarah was still boiling of rage when she punched at the old tree in front of her. 'That goddamn Chatton! Who does that nerd think he is?'. The young girl had been walking through the dark forest for quite some time now, trying to work off some steam, but still the thought of the elder man pushing past her as if she was nonexistent made her guts clench in anger. And Remy... her only friend... the person she trusted most all over the world, had nearly thrown her out of the hut, treating her like the child the other thieves always pretended she was. He had never done that before! Her lips started to tremble treacherously, but she fought down the tears. She wouldn't cry! She wasn't one of those pampered princesses! She had learned to fight for her life at a very young age and she had never cried, no matter how harsh life had treated her. But when somebody showed her that she was weaker, like Chatton had done today, at such an injustice, she couldn't help but shed burning tears of helpless rage. 

A feral growl escaped her throat as she kicked against another trunk when she saw the shimmering of a fire through the branches in front of her. Slowly crawling forward, remembering all the stealth Remy had taught her, she approached the fireplace. A still figure laid there, leaned against a tree, a horse grazing besides. She slowly creeped closer till she could make   
out the figures shape. It was a woman, or more likely a girl. Probably running away from her evil daddy who wanted to marry   
her to an old Lord. Sarah grinned bitterly. Life was sooooo harsh to these pampered daddy-girls! Her grin turning evil, she   
stepped closer to the 'sleeping beauty', planning to scare the shit out of her. At least she had found someone where she could let off some steam! 

When she bended over the girl she couldn't help but gasp for air. That was the girl they had robbed a few days ago! The one   
whose father Chatton had killed! At the sound of Sarah's gasp, Jacqueline woke up. The two girls looked into each others eyes incredously, similary shocked. After a split second, they both reacted with trained speed, but to her misfortune, Jacqueline had   
only the picture of her parents in her range, while Sarah's belt was bristling with knives, so the odds were clear. As pigheaded   
as Jacqueline was, even she yielded face to face with a sharp knife. In a gesture as old as mankind, she lifted her hands over her head, defeated. 

"Now, look who we have here, the little lady-wildcat." Sarah snarled as she motioned Jacqueline to get up. "I guess I'll bring   
you to leader-dearest and let him decide what we do with you, and, more important, with your horse and your package!" 

Silently, the young Comtess packed up her belongings and followed the thief's orders, hoping that the girl wouldn't see her   
triumphant smile at the thought that she had finally found a guide to the thieves' hideout.   
  
  


to be continued in chapter 4 


	4. seals of power part 4

Seals of power  
chapter 4  
  
by KazeRogue (KazeRogue@hotmail.com) and Michi-chan (FieryCat36@hotmail.com)  
  
  
Sarah was still angry as she poked the young lady in the back with her dagger to lead her into the right direction. But she also felt a kind of bitter satisfaction. She had found this pimp all too close to the thieves' hideout and that would prove Rem and Chatton that she was useful, that she was to take serious. She could already imagine ther two men's faces when she brought the little princess before them.   
  
That, and the fact that she underestimated Jacqueline as easy prey, made her inattentive enough that the young noblewoman took her by surprise as she swiftly turned and pinned the girl at the floor, her own knife at her throat. And though the thief was trained, as were her reflexes, she stood no chance against the merciless attack of a former pupil of Mme Corbeau.  
  
"You can kill me now, but it won't do you any good. Rem will be after you, and he will kill you" the red-headed girl hissed, more out of spite than certainty. Even if Remy felt enough for her to want revenge, she knew that he despised killing in cold blood. And her boss had a soft spot for women, though he would never let that get in his way during a job.  
  
Nevertheless, the thief stared at the noblewoman defiantly, lips pressed together in a thin line to keep them from trembling and betraying her fear.  
  
"So Rem is his name?" Jacqueline snorted in a most un-noble way "Don't worry, child" now she grinned as Sarah flinched at the title that was more of an insult. "You're not the one I came to kill."  
  
With these words, the young lady pulled the handle of the knife over the girl's head and left her laying on the floor unconscious.  
  
  
dbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odbo.odb  
  
  
Remy LeBeau subconsciously stroke over the glass with his thumb before he packed the frame in the sack along with his other belongings. Suddenly the hut seemed too small, the air to thick and he decided to sleep outside with the rest of his band. The thieves looked at him confused as he took place next to one of the fireplaces but seeing his expression nobody dared to question him. He had chosen a place as far away from the hut and the other bandits as possible, wanting to be left alone, and the others respected his wish and left this fire for him solely.   
  
He crossed his arms behind his neck and laid his head on them, staring into the darkness of the night and trying to give his troubled mind some rest. He watched the stars and called them by the names his father had taught him when he had been little. The stars held a strange peace for him for though they wandered he could always trust in them returning to the same place in the same scheme.  
  
A disturbing resemblance to his life, he thought wryly. Though never steady, never at home and nowhere at peace, everything in his life seemed to rotate about the one thing that kept him going. Unwanted memories returned, unfulfilled obligations, promises unkept. This was one of these nights when one remembered, when you thought about things you had struggled to ban out of your mind.   
  
The stars mocked him, blurring his tired vision, reforming, while two stars in the middle shined brighter and brighter every second until they changed into sparkling emeralds, while above them, the milkyway turned into a white streak. Why was he thinking about her now? Maybe because she was yet another victim in his line, another one whose life he had destroyed. Remy could too well understand the pain of losing one's father but he couldn't bear the weight of another crushed existence on his shoulders.  
  
Squeezing his eyes shut, he hoped against hope for sleep to come this night.  
  
  
*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+  
  
  
Jacqueline didn't pant. She wasn't even nervous. Instead, a strange kind of numbness had enclosed her feelings while her senses were as active as ever. Silently as Irene had taught her, she sneaked closer to the guard, elegantly moving around branches to prevent any betraying noise. Even her heartbeat was quiet and steady as if not to alert the thieves. Reaching through thorny twigs with one long, slender hand, she grabbed the guarding thief with an astonishing strength, covering his mouth, and pulled into the undergrowth.   
  
When he was bound and gagged, she crouched closer to the bandits hideout, looking for their leader. Then she saw him, aside of his gang, sleeping next to one of the numerous fires. Luckily, his fire had almost burned down what would make it easier for Jacqueline to get to him unnoticed. She followed the line of the clearing to the place where the wood was closest to the thief's sleeping place.  
  
  
Suddenly her heart bumped against her chest and the air seemed heavier. Swallowing she felt her mouth drying and tried hard to keep herself calm. So this was the thrill of the hunt when the prey showed up in the line of fire. But she was trained enough to not give in to the rush, but stay careful. Removing her knife from her boot, she crawled the few yards over the clearing to reach his sleeping form.  
  
Lifting the knife to hold it only inches over his throat, she argued whether to wake him up to make him see his murderer and have her relish the look of his face in view of certain death or whether that would be too risky. She had no eyes for his peaceful features, untensed in sleep, for the almost dried line of tears on his cheek, for his hand that clutched to his chest as if wanting to hold something. She just saw the face of her dying father as she moved the knife closer.  
  
  
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Against all odds he had fallen asleep, but it was as troubled as sleeps can get. He knew that he dreamt again, about her of course. But even this knowledge wouldn't let him wake up. Or maybe it was his guilt that made him see these pictures again, punishing him for his past mistakes. That was until a trained instinct pulled him put of the abyss of his subconsciousness, the instinct of a light sleeper who had learned the hard way to be alert at every time.  
  
While opening his eyes he felt something cold at his throat and slapped the knife away with a swiftness that held no memory to the sleep he had been in just seconds before. An instant later the surprised assailant laid under him, Remy's slender but surprisingly strong hands holding delicate wrists like iron manacles his legs pushing down at the other's legs to keep them from kicking, his hip pressing against the other's to keep the struggling at bay.  
  
It was only then that Remy noticed the softness of the skin he held, the fragility of the bones and the tender curves of the body he was holding down. Easing his grip instantly he looked into defiant green eyes that were covered by a few stray strands of white hair to complete the almost mocking repetition of the vision he had had earlier this night. But even before the realization who had attacked him had sunk in, he felt a tender but amazingly strong knee between his legs.  
  
  
  
  
to be continued in chapter 5  
  
note: I know it is evil to stop right here, but what can we say? We ARE evil MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  
  
this is from Kaze to everybody who mailed me and asked me to send him/her future chapters of my stories (including this): Evil hotmail has deleted almost all those emails!!!! *sniff* PLEASE mail me again so I have your addresses! I really wanna keep the promises I have made so please please please mail me again ^^;;;; Thanks! 


	5. seals of power part 5

Disclaimer: the characters are BASED on what Marvel has created some time ago, though we try to treat them with respect and not change their personality in every chapter ^^  
  
If you like what you see here, please send feedback to either of the addresses below  
  
  
Seals of power  
Chapter 5  
  
by KazeRogue (KazeRogue@hotmail.com) and Michi-chan (FieryCat36@hotmail.com)  
  
  
  
  
Jacqueline heard the bandit gasping for air and his hold around her body eased if only a bit. But it was enough for her to free herself from him and scramble to her feet. She'd failed. She hadn't been able to kill him. It had only been a split second's hesitation, but it had been long enough for someone with the thief's reflexes. Why? Why had she hesitated? He had been there and all she'd had to do was to slit his throat with her dagger. But she hadn't. And now it was too late. Her chance was gone and she felt that there wouldn't occur another one like this.   
  
The only possibility she had left now was to run. Her attempt at avenging her father may have failed this time, but she didn't need to get captured by the bandits to add to her humiliation. Without a second glance at the young thieves' leader who was now as well coming to his feet, she whirled around to run for it. And found herself face to face with the muzzle of a loaded pistol.  
  
  
"Uhh, look, who's here. Long time no see, M'lady"   
  
Jacqueline froze. Even without looking at the speaker she would know who was standing in front of her. She'd heard that voice only once before but she recognized it instantly. Although some part of her just resisted to believe her ears. That couldn't be. That girl just couldn't be here that quickly, not the way Jacqueline had tied her up. And Jacqueline knew how to make knots.   
  
"You should check ALL pockets of the folks you tie up, Missy, especially if they're sucker for knives like me." The young girl's smirk was plainly affable and also, strangely, triumphant. Now she had proven her worth to the thieves and saved their leader's life. No one would ever look down upon her as a kid again.   
  
"I'll keep it in mind", Jacqueline said while checking her options. In the corner of her eye she saw the other thieves' approaching and she guessed that their leader had gotten up by now. Her guess was proven right when strong hand grabbed her shoulders and made her turn around. His eyes locked hers though he was talking to Sarah.   
  
"T'anks f'r de aid, p'tite. I t'ink de lady missed our estimated company." With only a sidelong glance before his eyes returned to the noblewoman, he told his men that he had everything under control again. Taking both her wrists in one hand behind her back, he shoved her towards the small hut around which the camp had gathered. Jacqueline walked without resistance, neither her blank face nor her stiff back betraying the turmoil of emotions burning inside her.   
  
Remy was silent as well on the short way to the hut, trying to regain his composure that had been extremely shattered when he had recognized the woman that had attacked him. And he had no clue what to do with her now. Taking a deep breath, he decided to talk to her first. And that was something he was not quite looking forward to as his bad conscience ate him up. Jacqueline on the other hand couldn't await to be alone with him in the small hut. With all the thieves around them, she had no chance to free herself and get another shot at him, but when alone, the odds would change to her favor. And playing the shocked, weak noblegirl would leave him inattentive enough to try a surprise attack.   
  
But though she could tell from the expression on his face that he hadn't expected her to lash out at him when she did as soon as he had closed the hut's door, she had to give him - again - credit for his reflexes. Before she had even realized that she had failed again, she felt one strong arm around her waist while his other hand tried to grab both her wrists again. She heard him panting as she struggled in his embrace and he tried to keep her in check. She stood still for a moment only to stamp her heel on his foot as soon as his grip had eased. He shoved her towards a chair and limped towards her, taking a string from the table as he passed it. Angrily, he forced her hands behind her back before she had recovered from his blow.   
  
As the thief kneeled down behind the chair's back to bind her hands, he let out the air he didn't know he'd been holding and forced himself to cool down a bit. As he was finished and had checked that she couldn't escape, he walked around the chair to face her.   
  
"Look, p'tite, I'm sorry about that, I didn' mean t'hurt you, or push dat hard, but y'have to be reasonable. If you go on kickin around like dat, I won't be able t'keep my men from killin' ya."  
  
  
"Like you care! Like you DID care when my father died!" She was too enraged to notice his wince and his sudden inability too look her into the eyes.   
  
"Dat was an accident..." He answered evasively.   
  
"An accident???" she screamed. "Taking a person's life can never be an ACCIDENT!"   
  
"I never wanted anybody t'get hurt. Y'have to believe me, I'm really sorry."   
  
"Oh... I see, you are a NOBLE thief, some kind of Robin Hood." her voice was dripping with sarcasm.   
"Oh, wake up, you bastard! You're nothing but scum! And I will see the day they hang you for your crimes, if they estimate you worthy enough for the string. And I will laugh!"   
  
His eyes narrowed as he leaned over her and gripped her shoulders as if to shake the stubbornness out of her. His voice was dangerously calm as he spoke.   
  
"Y'should watch dat mouth of yours, lady. No one's birth gives em de right to judge anot'er person. I might not be spending my time with hunting and dancing at balls, but that doesn't make me scum!"   
  
"No, only your killing people does!" she shouted angrily.   
  
He stared at her for another second, then turned brusquely and stormed out of the hut.   
  
  
  
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Chatton watched with a grin as LeBeau left the hut and punched his fist into the next tree. When he grabbed the rein of his horse and pulled himself on it's unsaddled back and rode away in a fierce gallop, he knew that the angry young man wouldn't be back for a while. Casually, he walked towards the hut, expectation speeding his pulse. As he opened the door, her head flung up, anger still burning in her emerald eyes. As she realized it was not the thieves' leader, anger was replaced by mistrust.  
  
"Who are you." she demanded in a voice that was reserved for the aristocrats. Chatton only grinned and closed the door. He strode to the table casually and picked up stuff only to lay it down again after taking only a glimpse at it, closing in on her by the way.  
  
"Yer nightmare." he said lightly while pretending to intently study a framed picture that he had taken out of a bag, then he shrugged and threw it back in. Finally his attention turned towards Jacqueline an he gave her an almost friendly smile, his eyebrows lifted as if he couldn't await her reaction. That came promptly. She snorted with all the disgust versus the bourgeois class that had been drilled into her in the convent of Montmiraille. Thought patterns, that weren't her own, but that she had learned by heart to please the conventional nuns and make her life more bearable, kicked in as automated defense, as if her birth would keep her as safe here as it would in the king's palace.  
  
Chatton only laughed. An uncomfortable, grumbling sound, that sent shivers down Jacqueline's back, though she still kept it straight and wouldn't let her face betray the fear she felt in the company of the manbeast that radiated violence. Nonetheless, he noticed the split-second's flicker in her eyes and squat down in front of her, grinning wolfishly.  
  
"'Fraid?" he asked innocently and pulled her head back by her hair.  
  
"Not in the slightest." she answered with a pressed voice, then gasped as he tore at her ponytail even harder.  
  
"Y'should be." A last violent haul at her hair had her fall on her side and land painfully on her shoulder, and since her hands were still bonded, she could do nothing to cushion the fall. With a feral growl Chatton pulled away the chair that had almost crushed underneath her from the impact. Then suddenly, he laid upon her, his weight forcing the air out of her lungs, while his mouth and his hands conquered her body. Jacqueline struggled as desperately as fruitlessly and tried hard to fight down the panic. There was no use in exhausting her powers like that, she had to concentrate them in a single blow. That much for the plan. The reality told her that even if her hands had not been bond, she wouldn't stand a chance against this horror come to flesh.  
  
Chatton sat up on her, his thighs pressing her hips together violently and let a finger trace down the line of her collarbone.  
  
"Y'know, I really enjoyed killin' yer father. Maybe I would have even done it without LeBeau's order. The kid may be a dick, but he knows how ta make a party out of work."  
  
Jacqueline was too numb to even gasp, she just stared at the thief's smirking face wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open slackly. She didn't even notice the man tearing up her blouse, ripping it into shreds. She didn't notice him stopping in his tracks, didn't hear the gasp of surprise as he stared unbelievingly at the silver bracelet she was wearing around her upper arm. She noticed none of these things as a dark, cold hatred crawled it's way up from the deepest recesses of her soul and suffocated her fear, while concentrating all her might in one rear that sent him flying towards the floor. Jacqueline felt her chin tremble with uncontrolled rage, her eyes shooting lightenings at the man that was already rising again. The surprise was gone from his face and had given way to a complacent grin. Quickly, he grabbed her upper arm and took a closer look at the bracelet, ignoring her struggling while closing her mouth with his free hand.  
  
"So yer kept somethin' from us, eh? Well, I can still take this later, let's have some fun first." He pulled her close in a rough grip, his strong arms that enclosed her like iron bonds preventing any resistance.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~ to be continued in chapter 6  
  
  
  
Important Note: We noticed that accidently two versions of 'seals of power' #3 were posted, one of them is incomplete. We corrected the mistake on every webpage we're archived on that we know about. Please look out for the right version to get the full scope of the story. SORRY!!!! (blame Kaze ^_-)  
- Michi is innocent!! really completely innocent!!!!!!!! ^___^  
(well, not completely, but in this case..... ^________-)  
Yeah, okay, I admit it, it was dumb me that posted the wrong version, but hey, if Michi'd lift her a$$ and post herself only ONCE, she MIGHT do a mistake herself as well ^_____-  
- phh I don't know the people to whom we sent our story, so it's your job to post, to write, to correct my mistakes, to bring me food, to pay me, to wash my car.....  
Oh yeah, and it's your job to get all pissy when you're not properly credited ^______-  
- hai! (jap. yes)  
it is my job to think of the twists in the story *gg* (wait till later chapters, which will be available .. hm.. let's say 2010 *eg*) and to look good in spandex (oops that was Scott's line I guess ^^;;)  
yeah, twists and turns like making Rem a drug-addict, having Jacky eaten by a shark, having Warren STUDY how to be an asshole..... and that was not Scott's line, Scott's line will be... uhm, wait till later chapters (in case I let Michi have her version of him *ooops*)  
  
  
- that was a spontaneous creative ... uhm ... stroke. Maybe you can imagine now why our plots are so immensly... funny ^_- (ten minutes of plotting, 30 minutes of 'Akugi' (= the 'evil seals of power' that we might even publish someday) and 20 minutes of lying in the sun, eating icecream and praising each other's talents ^__-)  
- you forgot running down the jerks in our town that takes about half the time ^___- *nyahahahaha* (-- Michi is rotfl)  
Ain't she evil??? *sighs proudly*  
- I had a good teacher *looks at Kaze* =^.^= 


	6. seals of power part 6

Seals of power - chapter 6  
  
by KazeRogue (KazeRogue@hotmail.com) and Michi-chan (Fierycat36@hotmail.com)  
  
Note: PG-rated (okay, maybe that's a bit overkill, but just for sure ^_-)  
  
(Working title: Chatton - hard as a stone and dumb as a brick)  
  
  
  
Remy sat on a rock a few yards away from the camp. His hands were clenched into fists and his usually handsome features were distorted to an ugly grimace of rage. Ho dare she insult him like that? What did this little spoiled girl know anyway? Nothing! She knew nothing about the world outside her small protected world, nothing about the cruelty which ruled it. But she just came here and judged him self righteously. He punched his fist so hard on the stone it hurt and he swore under his breath.  
  
After his argument with the countess he had stormed out of the camp into the woods. The fire in his eyes had told his companions it would be healthier not to walk in his way right now. Just like the woman they didn't know the real reason her words had infuriated him so much. In fact they knew little more about him than she did. But what they did know for sure was that he was a proud man. Proud and honorable, well as honorable as it gets for a man of his profession.  
  
And now he sat here for he didn't know how long. He should've killed her, let Chatton kill her the moment she had thrown herself at him to avenge her father. But the same second that thought crossed his mind, he knew he would've - could've - never done that. He may be a thief at the moment but he was not a murderer. He had never killed anyone and he had no intention of doing so now.  
  
And despite his anger and frustration at her contempt, wasn't she right? Yes, she was he admitted bitterly to himself. At least from her point of view she was right. To her he was nothing more than the leader of a band of criminals who murdered her father and now held her captive. As his anger cooled down he realized more and more that he could understand her. He felt the strange desire to tell her everything. To make her understand why he did what he did. But he also knew that he couldn't. Not if he wanted to complete his mission successfully. Nonetheless he could at least try to talk to her again to grant his soul a little peace.  
  
Determined he stood up and strode back to the hut. Suddenly Sarah stepped in his way.  
  
"Can we talk?"  
  
Remy frowned and glanced at the hut again. He wanted to get over with this now that he had made up his mind.  
  
"It's important" she nudged him.  
  
Sighing, Remy followed her into the woods again, turning his back to the hut, completely unaware of what was about to happen in there.  
  
  
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Remy let Sarah drag him into the forest, where she turned and started her tirade. Sarah took a deep breath and looked her boss firmly in the eyes.  
  
"Remy, I captured the lady; I guess I've earned myself some respect with that. I want to finally be acknowledged as a full member of the gang. I'm sick of not being taken seriously. Sick of being pushed around, of being laughed at. I'm not a child anymore, I am a thief..."  
  
Remy's glance strayed to his hut and his eyes narrowed. Suddenly he was consumed by a strange gut feeling. A knowledge that something was going to happen. Something bad. JACQUELINE!!  
  
Without a second thought he pushed Sarah out of the way and ran towards the hut, leaving a stunned girl behind.  
  
  
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Chatton looked down at the woman lying beneath him. Her green eyes were wide with fear, all the haughtiness gone from them. She still tried to free herself from him, but it was useless, he was too strong for her and they both knew it. She knew what he was going to do to her. Her fear and the feeling of her slim body being pressed against his turned him on even more. He took both of her wrists in one of his hands while he grabbed one of her breasts with his other hand.  
  
Jacqueline screamed, whether out of pain or out of fear he couldn't tell, and frankly, he didn't care. He smiled evilly.  
  
"Screamin' won't help ya, m'dear. Nobody will come to help ya. They all know, what's goin' on in here. And ya know what? They don' care. Maybe they're even making fun of it."  
  
She clenched her teeth as her whole body tensed. A single tear found its way through squeezed eyes, expressing the shame and embarrassment she felt she was bringing on her family. But then she suddenly felt something else deep inside herself. A pride, that had nothing to do with her noble birth, rising. The love that her father and Irene had given to her, showing her that she was special to them. She wouldn't let that man treat her like anything less.  
  
She opened her eyes again, to meet his cruel smile, the desire for inflicting pain upon others, weaker than him. She realized that her fear was only fuel to his arousal. She knew, of course, that she couldn't simply stop her fear, but she could at least stop showing it to him. She put on the expression she had seen so many others of her class wear, that she herself had always despised, but that would now maybe prove to be her last hope. One eyebrow raised, she forced her pretty features into an expression of utmost contempt.  
  
"Look at yourself," she snarled, "need your women in bonds, because they don't stay voluntarily? You're so pathetic!"  
  
The lust in Chatton's eyes flickered to anger for a second, the anger that every man felt when his masculinity was in question. But her words also affected the situation Jacqueline was in, since she was now not only in danger of being raped, but also of being beaten up beforehand. All she had gained was a split second, the time Chatton had needed to realize her change of behavior, her harsh words, and to react to them with a fury the young lady would soon be sorry she had unleashed. But this split second was enough time for Remy LeBeau to burst into the little hut and stop the elder thief yet again, short of slapping the girl's face. A muscle in Remy's cheek started to twitch as he clenched his teeth when taking in the scene.  
  
"You bastard!" he spat out, barely controlling himself. His trembling hands were clenched into tight fists, his knuckles protruding whitely. Chatton turned around, while not releasing her from his brutal grasp, grinning evilly.  
  
"What's the problem, boss. Ya tol' me I could have her. Want the little bitch for yerself, now?" Jacqueline's expression turned from relief to shock in an instant, shivers running down her spine. Despite everything the young thief had done to her, she had still believed that he was a somewhat decent man. But obviously she had been wrong. He was not only her father's murderer, but also a cruel man without any honor who wasn't above ordering a woman's rape without a split second of remorse. The cold in her guts gave way to hot anger boiling through her veins, blinding her so that she didn't see LeBeau's expression that very much resembled her own.  
  
"Shut your bloody mouth, Chatton," he snarled through clenched teeth, "before I do it for you!"  
  
Under a fit of laughter, Chatton finally let go of Jacqueline and rose to his feet. "What's wrong with you, LeBeau? Still trying to keep the facade up in front of the little wench?"  
  
LeBeau's fist hit the other man's broad, pitted nose, before he could stop him. Chatton only laughed.  
  
"Get out!" Remy's anger was almost tangible.  
  
The huge bulky man beast strolled out of the hut, still laughing. Remy closed his eyes and silently counted to ten, trying to control his anger. When he opened them again, his gaze fell on the still tied up girl, lying on the floor. When he had seen her eyes after her father had been shot, he had thought she couldn't possibly feel any more hatred for him than in that moment. Now he realized that he had been wrong.  
  
He knelt down besides her, removing the ropes that held her hands, not looking her in the eyes.  
  
"He's lyin', ya know?" Still, he did not dare to look up into her eyes that were shooting emerald arrows at him. She inhaled deeply, trying to control the anger burning inside her, until she could trust her voice and speak, knowing she would now neither scream nor cry.  
  
"How dare you!" she uttered through gritted teeth. Not knowing what to say he kept his eyes on her hands and finished removing her bonds. Jacqueline rubbed the angry red marks on the smooth white skin of her delicate wrists.  
  
He noticed her movement and realized the discomfort his bonds must have caused her. "Sorry" he mumbled. Her head flew up... as did her fist. Right into his face. For an instance he was too stunned to react, then he slowly raised his hand to his cheek, incredulously. He touched the spot where her slender hand had hit him.  
  
Still boiling with anger she yelled at him "How dare you?! How dare you even touch me, after everything you've cost me! Hell, you even tried to take away the last thing left to me: My pride!" Tears formed behind her eyes but while she fought them back with all the strength she had left, he still saw them.  
  
To give her back some of her dignity he reached out to close her shredded blouse over her breast again. But he stopped dead in his movement when his eyes caught a shimmer of gold on her upper arm.  
  
"What the..."  
  
His hand closed hard around her arm and he pulled her nearer to him trying to get a closer look on the object. Jacqueline let out a small cry, whether of pain or of fear he didn't know. Not wanting to hurt her any more he quickly let go of her arm again, but not before pulling off the bracelet. He stared at it, an unreadable expression on his handsome face.  
  
"Give that back!" she snapped, though, for the first time since they met, he could see insecurity and fear in her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry" he said as he cupped her cheek in his hands, feeling her tremble, "but I have to take this." He quickly bent down and planted a light kiss on her lips, like a payment... or a promise.  
Before she even realized what had just happened he had already stood up and almost fled out of the hut, taking her mother's bracelet along with him.  
  
  
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The young woman closed her eyes, blending out her surroundings to concentrate on the world inside her mind. A world with no boundaries, no prisons, no chains, no evil haunting her. It wasn't a world of shining heroes and pretty princesses, but it was beautiful in its simplicity.  
  
A slight smile played on her lips as she spread her mental wings and rose above hunger and pain, fear and despair. Soft winds carried her to the man with whom her heart, thoughts and hopes stayed the whole day. The man she loved more than anything in the world. The man who was her last hope of salvation.  
  
Distressed she opened her eyes, only to find herself staring into the face of evil itself. Her personal devil had come to smile at his handiwork... in anticipation.  
  
  
  
To be continued... 


	7. seals of power part 7

Seals of power  
  
part 7  
  
  
by KazeRogue and Michi-chan  
  
  
  
Remy LeBeau stared at the bracelet, conflicting emotions reflecting on his handsome face. Joy, that he had finally found what he'd been looking for, relief, that his crusade was over, the permanent anger that he even had to look for this little piece of silver, and, what was worst, sadness that he had had to take it away from the one person he had already taken everything from (hurt the most in his life). He knew he could never make up to her, not in her eyes. To her, he was a monster, that had not only ordered her father's death, but also her being raped. But there was nothing he could do about that now, even though the memory of their last encounter still sent twinges of guilt through his body.  
  
He had returned to the hut to retrieve his few possessions (he had decided not to take any of the things they had stolen with him). He would have left even those behind, had it not been for the framed picture of the most beautiful woman Remy had ever laid his eyes on (and there had been many!), the only person in this world he cared about.  
  
When he had entered, carefully avoiding eye contact with the hut's irritating prisoner, she had looked up at him from her sitting position and had demanded back her bracelet with a stern voice that allowed no contradiction. She hadn't begged, hell, she hadn't even asked. She had simply stated the fact that the bracelet was hers and undoubtedly would be again.  
  
With a sigh, he put the object of both their grief into his saddlebag and walked over towards his horse. That was until he heard a female voice he had come to know very well recently.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
  
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Jacqueline paced back and forth in the small hut, trying to calm down her nerves, unable to sit for a second. Not only was she the prisoner of a brutal gang of thieves who had killed her father, her bracelet, the only reminder of her dead mother she'd never known, taken away, but also she'd also been raped, a memory that still send shivers of anger, disgust, shame and, even though she hated to admit this, fear down her spine.  
  
Her situation was driving her insane and she just knew that she had to do something about it, no matter what or how stupid it may be. Stupid like fleeing from a thieves' hideout, full of strong, brutal men in full sunlight. Filled with sudden determination she started to check the wooden walls of the hut for any sign of weakness. And she found it. One of the wooden boards was already beginning to rot and thus could be easily removed. A small smile graced the young woman's lips. LeBeau had been stupid not to tie her up again. And when he would return she wouldn't be there anymore. She bent down, took a tight hold of the board with both her hands and started to pull at it with all her might. With a loud crack the wood broke off and Jacqueline was sent flying backwards, landing rather uncomfortably on her backside.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
Jacqueline froze, terrified. Had her foolish attempt at escape only worsened her situation because she had been caught in the act? It took her some painful moments, in which she held her breath and tried to ease her heart's hard thumping against her chest, to realize she wasn't the person addressed.  
  
Slowly crawling backwards Jacqueline tried not to betray her presence. Panting, she leaned against the wall, right beside the whole she had somewhat provisionally covered, and concentrated on the sound of footsteps that stopped right on the other side of the wall. Obviously there was an argument going on. Trying not to make any sound Jacqueline pressed her ear against the wall  
  
"Don't you just walk away! What's going on? Where are you going?"  
  
Jacqueline recognized the voice as that of the girl that had captured her.  
  
"Leavin'"  
  
She heard the tension in the thieves' leader's voice. Panic filled the young woman. What would happen to her if LeBeau left her with his gang? If she was at the mercy of people like Chatton.  
  
*Stupid girl!* Jacqueline scolded herself *As if your situation was any better now with a monster in sheep cloth in charge*  
  
"Where? And when will you come back?" Sarah demanded to know.  
  
"Never said I'd stay forever. Have business in London." he answered, his voice strangely bare of emotion.  
  
"But... but you can't just go!" the young girls normally snarling voice was suddenly almost hysteric. "You are our leader, you can't just leave us alone!"  
  
"Dere be 'nough people ta take m' place."  
  
Again Jacqueline heard footsteps. Obviously LeBeau had turned away and left the girl standing there.  
  
"Then I'll come with you!" These words made him stop dead in his tracks again.   
  
"You will stay away from me, and London, understood? Understood, Sarah?" his voice was intense and almost cracking with suppressed fury.  
  
"Understood.." she answered through gritted teeth, her anger no less than his.   
  
Jacqueline heard a sound as if the girl had to pull out of a tight grip and then her light footsteps hurrying away. A deep sigh was audible, though Jacqueline doubted that LeBeau felt sorry for his harsh words. Her thoughts were interrupted by Sarah's voice, already far away.   
  
"Don't forget your little toy when you're going! I'm not gonna protect her from the asshole, you know?!"  
  
She had just managed to hurry back to her seat and put on a blank expression as he slammed the door open. His features as emotionless as hers, he took a bag she recognized as her own out of a chest and told her to come with him. His grip on her upper arm was almost violent as he led her to her horse and Jacqueline could see his inner fight.  
  
As he started to bind her arms again, she couldn't hold back any longer.  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, eyes blazing with barely suppressed anger at his rude treatment.  
  
"Y'goin' home." He answered through gritted teeth, without even looking up.  
  
For a second, Jacqueline was too stunned to even react. But just for a second.  
  
"What the HELL do you think you're doing here then? How am I supposed to ride when my HANDS are bound?" Her anger made her pant as if she had run for miles. Remy sighed. He had expected that this wouldn't be easy.  
  
"Y'horse knows the way home."  
  
"And if I'm attacked?" she asked condescendingly, as if he were retarded enough so that she had explain to HIM that that there were criminals in this forest. But all her arrogant attitude faded when he pulled out a dagger and she winced against her will. LeBeau grinned grimly, as if he wouldn't like the fact that despite all her behavior she was deep down still scared of him, expected the worst of him.  
  
"I put this in the saddlebag. You'll be far 'nough from here until you'll manage to get it out. And then you can free yourself." When he had done so, he lifted her in the saddle and bound her hands tightly on the reins. Jacqueline gritted her teeth as if the sensation of his skin on hers was an unpleasant one. LeBeau kept his eyes fixed on her hands, even after he had finished his task, but suddenly, his hand shot up to her neck and he pulled her down into a passionate kiss.  
  
At first, the young noblewoman was too shocked to stop him or even react, then, she couldn't. She would never admit this to herself, but the shivers that ran down her spine when his tongue played with hers weren't out of sheer anger. Panting, LeBeau pulled out of the kiss, not looking her in the eyes. Before she could react, he murmured something that sounded like 'au revoir' and slapped the horse on the backside so that it started trotting away. The woman turned and their eyes met. Neither of them looked aside as she departed. Remy still stared at the direction she had taken when she was already outside his field of vision. The young noblewoman had left the life of the thief, and he didn't dare to take a closer look at the feelings her departure had aroused.  
  
  
  
... to be continued 


End file.
